Lock



p 27, 1954 B. STERNER 2,676,829- I LOCK Filed Oct. 29. 1948 Y 2Sheets-Sheet l Inventor B trmrrl Shrmn A tlorneys April 27,- 1954 B.STERNER LOCK 2 Sheeis-Shej 2 Filed 001:; 29. 1948 Pia? FIGS 1 F/ c. z

Inventor B evnavcl 5 'ferner J ga 4.

tlomeys Patented Apr. 27, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claimspriority, application Great Britain November 10, 1947 9 Claims. (01.292-335) This invention relates to a door lock of the kind having a boltwhich can be retracted against the action of a spring by a knob orhandle or by a key-operated lock or by both in which latter case thehandle may be fitted on the inside of the door and the key on theoutside.

The invention has for its object to provide an improved door lock whichcombines the convenience of a simple night latch that can be slammedwith the security of a mortice dead lock which normally requires to belocked by a turn of a key. The lockis proof against pushing back of thebolt by means of a flexible instrument to which the normal wedge shapedlock is vulnerable and it combines the simplicity of'th'e rim fixing ofan ordinary rim lock with the security of a mortice lock.

According to the invention-the lock is provided with means whereby, whenunlocked, the bolt is held in a retracted position in which it'proje'ctsto a slight extent and can be fullyprojected by its spring only onpressure applied to its projecting end. The bolt is preferably providedwith a means whereby, when fully projected it is automaticallydeadlocked.

The operating means may comprise a spring which urges the bolt into itsprojected position, a spring-actuated pawl pivotally mounted on a plateconnected to or integral with the bolt and adapted to co-operate with astop on the lock casing, and a lever, operable by the handle or key, theoperation of which first retracts the bolt, and, when the bolt isretracted-causesthe pawl to engage the stop so as to retain the bolt inits retracted position, In this position the end of the bolt projects toa slight extent from its casing, and the pawl can be released only byapplying pressure to the projecting end of the bolt whereby the pawl isreleased from its engagement with the stop "and the'bolt is projected byits spring. When the handle is released after being operated to retractthe bolt, the handle and lever are returned to a position in which thelever-bears against a stop or rib on the bolt and, when the bolt isfully projected, the stop or rib is moved out of the path of the leverwhich 'is then moved through a further small angle by its spring until a.notch in the lever engages the end of the stop or rib on the bolt andso deadlocks the bolt in the projected position.

In order that the inventionmay'be easily understood and readily carriedinto client, a door tion is illustrated, by way of example, in theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the lock;

Figure 2 is a part sectional elevation of the lock as seen from theinside of the door;

Figure 3 is a section on the line IlI-III of Figure 2;

Figures 4 and 5 are rear sectional elevations both takenon theline IV-IVin Figure 3, looking in the direction of the arrows, showing the bolt inthe projected and retracted positions respectively;

Figure 6 is'a sectional viewon the line VI-VI in Figure 3, looking inthe direction of the arrows, through the operating knob; and Figure 7 isa section on the line VII-VII of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawing, the lock comprises a :baseplate land a cover'2, between which the bolt 3 and the operating mechanism arecontainedand a strikingrblock 4. v

'In order to fit the bolt, the door is bored with a circular aperture 5for the reception of the barrel 6 of acylinder lock which may be of anysuitable known construction and has a transmission member -7 which canbe partially rotated in the usual manner by a key 8. The invention,however, is notconcerned with the actual mechanism of the cylinder lock.The base plate I has an inwardly projecting boss 9 which is fitted inthe circular aperture cut in the door and the base-plate is fixed to thedoor by means of a screw 10. The barrel 6 is provided in the -.usualmanner with four projecting screws H which pass through four holes inthe base plate, and on to which are screwed nuts [2, which are disposedin recesses in the boss 9, so that the base plateis firmly fixed to thedoor by means .of the screw 10 and thefour nuts l2. After the base platehasbeen fixed thecover 2 containing the operating mechanismlis attachedby placing the cover on the basev plate which engages against ledges ISin the sides of the cover and then sliding it to the left (in Figure 3)until a bridge member l3 provided at the end of the cover engages under'a hook l4 projecting from one end of the base plate and "a projectingflange IT on the other end of the cover abuts against the other end ofthe base 'plate, the flange l1 being disposed in a recesscut in the edgeof the door, 'as shown in Figure 3. The cover is then fixed to the doorby means of two screwslfi which 'are passed through "the projectingflange I! on the cover. 'The cover is thus securely held in lockconstructed-in accordance with the inven- =55 position by means of "thescrews It at one end and the engagement of the bridge |3 with the hook Mon the base plate at the other end.

The striking block 4 is fixed to the door post by means of two screws l9which are passed through holes in an inwardly projecting flange of thestriking block and by a screw 2| which is passed through an inclinedhole in the striking block. It will thus be seen that when the door isclosed, the means by which the lock and the striking block are fixed tothe door and door post are inaccessible and, therefore, the lock cannotbe readily removed from the door. Further, the end of the cover projectsbeyond the flange I! so as to overhang the edge of the striking block,so that a tool or other implement cannot readily be inserted betweenthese two points with the object of forcing the bolt.

The operating mechanism contained within the casing 2 comprises the boltwhich is' in the form of a plate 3 from one end of which two cylindricalbolts 22 extend. The ends of the bolts 22 are bevelled ofi slightly oneach side as shown at 23. The bolt plate 3 is provided with side flangeswhich are guided by side flanges of the casing and plate 3 is urged intoa position in which the bolt is projected by means of a coiled spring 24which is fitted at one end around a pin 25 fixed to the :plate and ofwhich the other end bears against a stop 25 provided on the cover 2. Asshown in Figures 4 and 5, one side of the inner end of the bolt plate 3is extended beyond the opposite side and carries a fixed pin 21' onwhich is pivotally mounted a pawl 28 which is normally urged inwardly bya spring 29 so that the outer edge of the pawl is in line with the edgeof the bolt plate 3 as shown in Figure 4.

The bolt may be operated from inside of the door by means of anoperating knob 48 which is mounted on a boss 4| on the outside of thecover 2 and is keyed or otherwise secured to an operating lever 3| toturn therewith. The lever 3| has an arcuate surface having a notch 33 atone end, which, when the bolt is in the projected position, is adjacentto but spaced a small distance from a rib 60 extending from the back ofthe bolt plate 3 as shown in Figure 4. The side surface 32 of the lever3|, when the bolt is in the projected position is spaced a smalldistance from the pawl 28, and when the knob is operated so as to turnthe lever 3| in a clockwise direction from the position of Figure 4 tothat of Figure 5, the notch 33 moves clear of the corner of the rib 60and as soon as it is clear the opposite side surface 32 of the leverbears against the pawl 28 at a point adjacent the pivot 21 so that asrotation is continued the point of contact between the lever and thepawl gradually moves away from the approximate dead centre positionshown in Figure 4.

The turning moment is thus small at the start and becomes greatertowards the end of the movement of the bolt when the pawl 28 is forcedinto the gap 34. The result is that when the knob is turned, the bolt iswithdrawn against the pressure of the spring 24 until it reaches aposition when the end of the pawl 28 can enter into a gap 34 provided inone side of the cover 2, whereupon the lever 3| forces the pawl 28outwardly against the action of its spring 29 since the spring is weakerthan the spring 24, until it engages the'edge of the gap 34 as shown inFigure 5. When the operating knob is released, the bolt plate 3 is heldby. the pawl in the posi- 4 tion shown in Figure 5 owing to the spring24 being stronger than the spring 29.

It will be noted that, in order to allow the forward edge of the pawl tomove past the adjacent edge of the gap 34, the bolt must be retractedslightly more (i. e. to the left) than shown in Figure 5 and thenallowed to move forward into the position shown in Figure 5. The pawl isthen able to enter the gap and is retained under the pressure of thespring 24. When, however, pressure is applied to the end 23 of the bolt,the spring 29 is able to move the pawl so that it does not engage theedge of the gap and the bolt is therefore released.

A coiled spring 42 is fitted in a groove around the knob between a stop44 which projects into the groove and a stop 43 which extends from theboss 4| in the cover 2. Similar steps 45 and 46 project from the boss 4|and from the knob respectively, whereby the angle through which the knobcan be turned is limited. These stops are so arranged that after thepawl 28 has entered the gap in the cover, the knob can be given a slightfurther rotation so that the bolt is completely retracted beyond theposition shown in Figure 5 in which the end projects slightly and thepawl 28 is released from engagement with the edge of the gap.

In order to provide a connection between the cylinder lock 5 and theknob 40 the base plate I is provided with a circular aperture in whichis rotatably mounted a cylindrical connecting member 41 provided on oneface with a transverse rib 48 which engages in a transverse slot 49 inthe operating lever and'in the part of the knob 48 which is fixed to thelever, as is best shown in Figure 3. The provision of this rib and slotenables the cover to be moved laterally after it has been fitted to thebase plate so as to engage the bridge I3 with the hook I4 as previouslydescribed.

The member 41 is provided on the side facing the transmission memberwith two sector shaped recesses into which the transmission member Ienters. These sector shaped recesses provide a certain amount of lostmotion between the transmission member and the operating knob, so thatthe knob can be turned without effecting the cylinder lock, while notpreventing the transmission member from actuating the mechanism when thekey is turned.

The operation of the bolt is as follows.

Assuming the bolt 3 to be in the projected position shown in Figure 4 inwhich the bolts engage in corresponding circular recesses in thestriking block, the rib 60 of the bolt plate 3 is adjacent to but clearof the notch 33 in the lever 3| and therefore, the bolt is deadlockedand cannot be retracted by pressure applied to the end surfaces of thebolts. In this position the transmission member 1 engages the righthandside of the recess -58 and the left-hand side of the recess 5| in theconnecting member 41 as shown in Figure 4 and, when the lock is operatedby the key, the transmission member is turned clockwise, as seen inFigure 4, so that the operating lever 3| is rotated. The notch 33 thenmoves clear of the rib 60 and the lever 3| bears against the pawl 28 andwithdraws the bolt against the action of the spring 24 until the pawl 28clicks into the gap 34 in the side of the casing as previouslyexplained. The bolt is then in the position shown in Figure 5 with theends 23 of the bolt slightly projecting and is held. in this position bythe pawl engaging in the gap in the side ot the lock ='c'asing. Then, ifpressure is applied to the projecting ends :23, for example, by closingthe door so that the ends 23 bear against the striking block, the boltis further retracted until the pawl 28 is clear of the edge of the gap34. The pawl, however, is then moved inwardly by means of its spring 29since it is no longer being urged outwardly by the lever 3|, so that thebolt :is moved into its'projected position by means of the'spring 24.The bolt is then deadlocked owing to the rib '60 of the bolt plate 3cominginto engagement with the notch 33 if pressure is applied 'from theoutside to the end of the bolt.

After the bolt has been retracted by means of the key, the lockmechanism and transmission member can be returned to the position shownin Figure 4, owing to the lost motion in the member 41, so that the keycan be withdrawn. At the same time the lever 31 returns until its upperedge (in Figure 4) bears against the rib 60, and, when the bolt isprojected, the lever is rotated by the spring 42 a slight distancefurther until the upper edge bears against the stop 54 and the notch 33comes opposite the end of the rib 60 and so deadlocks the bolt.

If the bolt, when in the position shown in-Figure 4, is operated by theknob instead of by the key, the action is similar except that thetransmission member willnot move owing to the lost motion provided bythe sector-shaped recesses 50 'and-5|.

After the pawl 28 has engaged the notch 34 and the knob is released, theknob is returned to its original position by means of its spring 42,this being possible owing to the lost motion provided in the member 41.r

A stop 54 is provided for limiting the movement of the lever 3|, so asto ensure that the notch 33 engages the rib 60 on the bolt when thebolt, after projection, is urged toward its retracted position, therebylocking the bolt in projected position.

On the cover 2 is .pivotally mounted a catch 55 which is connected to amember 56 which, while the catch 55 is in the position indicated inFigure 1, passes through an aperture 58 in a wall of the bolt plate 3when the bolt is operated. The catch 55 may be moved into the positionshown in Figure 2, in which case it bears against one side or the otherof the above mentioned wall, according as the bolt plate is in theprojected or retracted position, and thus locks the bolt in eitherposition.

The catch 55 may be so dimensioned (as shown in dotted lines in Figure2) that the bolt may be locked in a position in which it is completelyprojected or in the slightly projecting position shown in Figure 5 inwhich it may still be completely retracted by pressure applied to theprojecting end, so that it may then act as a ball catch. When the boltis thus disposed it will yield to permit closing of any door to which itmay be attached and then move outwardly so as to project slightly intothe striking block to prevent free swinging of the door. However, a firmpull on the door will force the rounded end of the bolt against the edgeof the inner wall of the striking block, so as to force the bolt intofully retracted. position and :permit the door to open.

It will be seen that, after the bolt has been retracted either by meansof the operating knob or by means of the key, it can only be projectedagain by pressure applied to the end of the bolt,

the pressure required is only light-audit is sufiicient to close thedoor gently so that the ends of the bolts'bear against the strikingblock.

I claim:

1. A door lock 'comprisinga casing, a bolt slidable in said casing, aspring urging said bolt into a projected position, means forautomatically deadlooking said bolt in projecting position and forretracting said boltagai-n'st the action of said spring, means wherebythe bolt, when retracted, is automatically retained'in a position inwhich the end of the bolt projects slightly from said casing, meanswhereby, when pressure is exerted on said projecting end of said bolt,said retaining means is released and the bolt is moved by its springinto its fully projected position, and manually positionable means 'forpreventing such outward movement of said bolt into its fully projectedposition from its slightly projecting position. while permitting inwardmovement of said bolt due to pressure on its projecting end.

2. A door lock comprising a casing, a bolt slidable in said casing, aspring urging said bolt into a projected position, means forautomatically deadlocking said bolt in projecting position and forretracting said bolt, means for retaining said bolt in its retractedposition comprising a spring-actuated pawl pivotally mounted on saidbolt, a stop on said casing engageable by said pawl to retain said boltin a position in which the end of the bolt projects slightly from saidcasing and means whereby said pawl can be disengaged from said stop onlyby pressure applied to said projecting end of said bolt, in combinationwith latch means manually positionable to engage the bolt to deadlock itin fully projected position and to hold it in the position in which itprojects slightly, subject to being completely retracted by pressureapplied to the projecting end, so that the bolt may serve as a springcatch.

3. A door lock comprising a casing, a bolt slidable in saidcasing, aspring urging said bolt into a projected position, an operating memberautomatically deadlocking said bolt in projecting position, aspring-actuated pawl pivoted on said bolt, a stop on said casing, alever connected to said operating member and adapted to co-operate withsaid pawl whereby, when said operating member is operated, said bolt isretracted until its end projects slightly from said casing and when saidoperating member is released, said pawl engages said stop and retainssaid bolt in said retracted position and means whereby the said pawl canbe disengaged from said stop only when pressure is applied to saidprojecting end of said bolt, in combination with latch means manuallypositionable to engage the bolt to deadlock it in fully projectedposition and to hold it in the position in which it projects slightly,subject to being completely retracted by pressure applied to theprojecting end, so that the bolt may serve as a spring catch.

4. A door lock comprising a casing, a bolt slidable in said casing, aspring urging said bolt into a projected position, an operating handle,a pawl pivoted on said bolt, a stop on said casing, a spring urging saidpawl away from said stop, a lever connected to said operating handlehaving a position in which it deadlocks said bolt and whereby said boltmay be retracted and said pawl moved into engagement with said stop,said bolt being thereby retained in a retracted position in which theend of the bolt projects slightly from said casing, said pawl springbeing weaker than said bolt spring whereby when pressure is applied tosaid projecting end of said bolt, said pawl is moved by its spring awayfrom said stop, and means whereby when pressure is applied to saidprojecting end further projection of said bolt is prevented so that itmay act as a spring catch.

5. A door lock comprising a casing, a bolt slidable in said casing, aspring urging said bolt into a projected position, means for retractingsaid bolt against the action of said spring, means whereby said bolt,when retracted, is retained in its position in which the end of saidbolt projects slightly from said casing, means whereby the saidretaining means can be released only when pressure is exerted on saidprojecting end of said bolt, means whereby said retracting means onbeing released after being operated to retract said bolt is returnedtowards its original position, in which position it serves to deadlocksaid bolt when said bolt is in projected position and means whereby whenpressure is applied to said projecting end of said bolt and is followedby removal of said pressure further projection of said bolt beyond saidslightly projected position is prevented so that said bolt may act as aspring catch.

6. A door lock comprising a casing, a bolt slidable in said casing, aspring urging said bolt into a projected position, an operating memberautomatically deadlocking said bolt in its projected position, aspring-actuated pawl pivoted on said bolt, a stop on said casing, alever connected to said operating member and adapted to co-operate withsaid pawl whereby, when said operating member is operated, said bolt isretracted until its end projects slightly from said casing and, whensaid operating member is released, said pawl engages said stop andretains said bolt in said retracted position, and means whereby the saidpawl can be disengaged from said stop only when pressure is applied tosaid projecting end of said bolt, said lever, when the bolt is fullyprojected, being situated in the path of movement of the bolt so as todeadlock the bolt, and manually positionable means adapted to engagesaid bolt in slightly projected position to prevent movement thereoftoward fully projected position so that said bolt may act as a springcatch. 7

7. A door lock as claimed in claim 1, in which said last-mentioned meanscomprises a latch member pivotally mounted on the casing, an aperture inthe bolt through which said latch member normally passes and a stop onthe bolt with which said latch member can engage.

8. A door lock comprising a casing, a bolt slidable in said casing, aspring urging said bolt into a projected position, means automaticallydeadlocking said bolt in a projected position and for retracting saidbolt against the action of said spring, means whereby said bolt whenretracted is retained in a positio in which its end projects outwardslightly from said casing, means whereby said retaining means can bereleased by pressure applied to said slightly projecting end of saidbolt, and latch means whereby said bolt may be deadlocked in itsprojected position and prevented from outward movement from itsretracted position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,060,413 Augenbraun Apr. 29, 1913 1,184,919 Bock May 30, 19162,268,743 Fall; Jan. 6, 1942 2,279,591 Heyer Apr. 14, 19 12 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 232,717 Great Britain Apr. 30, 1925

